editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk Siegler reports for NPR, based out of NPR West in California.Siegler grew up near Missoula, MT, and received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado. He’s an avid skier and traveler in his spare time.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk SieglerTue, 23 Aug 2016 01:01:45 +0000Kirk Sieglerhttp://tpr.org
Kirk SieglerWhen a fast-moving, erratic wildfire ignites, firefighters right away try to save homes and steer the flames away from life and property. But experts say the real danger often occurs in the hours after the big wall of flames rips through.That's how the home of Rodrigo Moraga, a volunteer firefighter in Colorado, caught on fire. In 2010, he was one of the first responders to a wildfire racing through a tinder-dry canyon outside Boulder. As the main flanks of that fire moved on toward a small town, he ordered all available engines to follow it. Several hours later, he stood on a ridge above his own house. He noticed a small spot fire slowly starting to burn toward some pine needles in his backyard."So I watched the fire get closer and closer to my house and I kept calling for engines, but I had actually assigned them to other places, so I had no more engines," he says.He watched as that little fire in those pine needles jumped to his wooden deck and then the house. And then he watchedIn Wildfires, Big Flames Attract Attention, But Watch Out For The Embershttp://tpr.org/post/wildfires-big-flames-attract-attention-watch-out-embers
74591 as http://tpr.orgMon, 22 Aug 2016 21:17:00 +0000In Wildfires, Big Flames Attract Attention, But Watch Out For The EmbersKirk SieglerWhen rancher Cliven Bundy claimed his family of Mormon pioneers had "ancestral" rights to the federal land in and around Gold Butte, Nev., Vernon Lee scoffed."As a native, and as the tribe that actually had that land granted by the federal government back in the 1800s, he really doesn't got a right at all," Lee says. "If anybody's got a right it would be the Moapa Band of Paiutes."Lee, who is a former tribal councilman, is sitting on a lawn chair in the shade of his mobile home on the Moapa River Reservation.An air conditioner hanging from a side window hums. He swats away flies as he recalls how the tribe's land once included all of Gold Butte, but was later shrunk tenfold by the U.S. government. Today the reservation is just this small sliver of desert north of Cliven Bundy's place and adjacent to a coal-fired power plant."To be quite candid I wish they would give it all back, but realistically that probably won't happen," Lee says.So the Southern Paiute tribes in Nevada areIn Nevada, Tribes Push To Protect Land At The Heart Of Bundy Ranch Standoffhttp://tpr.org/post/nevada-tribes-push-protect-land-heart-bundy-ranch-standoff
74402 as http://tpr.orgThu, 18 Aug 2016 20:28:00 +0000In Nevada, Tribes Push To Protect Land At The Heart Of Bundy Ranch StandoffKirk SieglerIn southern California, an out-of-control wildfire that ignited Tuesday in a mountain pass east of Los Angeles has forced mass evacuations and destroyed an untold number of homes and businesses.The Blue Cut fire is just the latest inferno to plague the historically dry state. In recent days, fast-moving wildfires have raced into mountain towns and even whole cities, blackening more than 300,000 acres and destroying hundreds of homes and structures.What sets the Blue Cut fire apart is not its explosive growth – it's the sheer number of people under mandatory evacuation orders. Initial estimates from the U.S. Forest Service put the number above 80,000. There are believed to be more than 34,000 homes in its direct path.Complicating the evacuation efforts even further, one of the region's most important east-west routes, Interstate 15 through the Cajon Pass, is closed indefinitely due to the fire. It's not clear whether some people were unable to leave the area which is under threat. ButOut-Of-Control Southern California Brushfire Forces 80,000 To Evacuatehttp://tpr.org/post/out-control-southern-california-brushfire-forces-80000-evacuate
74311 as http://tpr.orgWed, 17 Aug 2016 05:24:00 +0000Out-Of-Control Southern California Brushfire Forces 80,000 To EvacuateKirk SieglerEven with Cliven Bundy and many of his militia supporters in jail, anger toward the federal government is still running high in some parts of the West.Clashes between ranchers and federal land managers over grazing rights are continuing. In southern Utah, things have gotten so bad lately that some local sheriffs have threatened to arrest federal rangers who try to close forest roads and cut off access to ranchers and other users.Sometimes it's hard to tell whether Garfield County Sheriff James "Danny" Perkins is serious or pulling your leg."Now you are in a police vehicle, you understand that right?" he asks, while gesturing toward the center console in his pickup truck. "There is a gun in here, if you happen to ever need a gun, I don't think you will."Garfield County is roughly the size of Connecticut, and it's up to Perkins and a half dozen deputies to patrol all of it."The country's big and it's vast," Perkins says. "I mean it's like this for miles and miles and miles."Federal landUtah Sheriffs Threaten To Arrest Rangers If They Try To Close Public Landshttp://tpr.org/post/utah-sheriffs-threaten-arrest-rangers-if-they-try-close-public-lands
70420 as http://tpr.orgTue, 31 May 2016 16:15:00 +0000Utah Sheriffs Threaten To Arrest Rangers If They Try To Close Public LandsKirk SieglerStanton Gleave hardly fits the stereotype of a modest, keep-to-himself Western rancher.Standing in a collection of muddy pens taking a break from shearing sheep near his home in tiny Kingston, Utah, Gleave gives an earful about his frustrations with the Bureau of Land Management and environmental groups."That's who we're actually fighting with," says Gleave. "They've indoctrinated and got into this BLM and Forest Service 'til a lot of 'em are right up in the head positions now."Gleave has spent his whole life raising sheep and cattle. His hands are swollen from years of ranch work. He leans on a wooden cane, which he also uses to prod the lambs up a ramp into a shearing shed.Gleave wants to talk about where these sheep spend most of their days, grazing on the slopes of Mount Dutton.In recent years, federal grazing allotments have been reduced on federal public land there, and Gleave says it has been hitting his pocketbook."That's what this thing's about, range rights," he says. "SinceEven With Bundy Behind Bars, 'Range War' Lives On For Some Ranchershttp://tpr.org/post/even-bundy-behind-bars-range-war-lives-some-ranchers
70183 as http://tpr.orgWed, 25 May 2016 20:49:00 +0000Even With Bundy Behind Bars, 'Range War' Lives On For Some RanchersKirk SieglerThe out-of-control wildfire burning in northern Alberta has fire officials south of the border casting a nervous eye toward the summer.The latest news that the Canadian blaze has moved into oil fields after destroying parts of an entire city comes as the U.S. Forest Service issues its annual wildfire forecast for the Western United States Tuesday.And the latest forecast is nothing short of a warning to communities in the western U.S. that a similarly destructive wildfire there is quite likely."This year we are facing a serious circumstance in California and potentially above-normal fire seasons in the Southwest and the Southern portion of the United States," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service.Just consider California, which is entering its fifth year of severe drought. Forest officials say upwards of 40 million stressed trees have died during the period; 29 million of those occurred last year. That in itself amounts to a historic fuel loadFirefighters Watching Canadian Blaze, Worry About Summer Conditions In U.S.http://tpr.org/post/fire-fighters-watching-canadian-blaze-worried-about-summer-conditions-us
69801 as http://tpr.orgTue, 17 May 2016 22:31:00 +0000Firefighters Watching Canadian Blaze, Worry About Summer Conditions In U.S.Kirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Texas Oil Company Faces Criminal Charges Over Southern California Spillhttp://tpr.org/post/texas-oil-company-faces-criminal-charges-over-southern-california-spill
69779 as http://tpr.orgTue, 17 May 2016 20:29:00 +0000Texas Oil Company Faces Criminal Charges Over Southern California SpillKirk Sieglerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTDXClISINU For 25 years, the alleged "Grim Sleeper" killed mostly poor, black women in South Central LA, some of whom were prostitutes. His trial is close to wrapping up, but it hasn't been getting much attention — a situation observers say is fitting because for years, neither did the killings themselves.Prosecutors have laid out their case against Lonnie Franklin Jr. for more than two months. They have talked about the lengths police went to to finally catch him. For example, detectives posed as busboys at a pizza parlor where Franklin attended a party. They took pizza crusts off his plate to use as DNA evidence. It matched samples taken from murder victims.For almost six years since that sting, Porter Alexander has been coming to this downtown LA courthouse for nearly every pretrial and trial proceeding. His daughter, Alicia Alexander, was murdered in 1988 when she was 18. He keeps pictures of her on his phone."I just want to show you, that's her,"Families Of LA Serial Killer's Victims Still Await Closurehttp://tpr.org/post/6-years-later-families-la-serial-killers-victims-still-await-closure
68995 as http://tpr.orgMon, 02 May 2016 09:02:00 +0000Families Of LA Serial Killer's Victims Still Await ClosureKirk SieglerIn Utah, the Alta Ski Area gets to keep its slogan "Alta is for Skiers."A federal appeals court has upheld the resort's long-standing snowboarding ban in a legal challenge brought by a group of local snowboarders.The case touched on a sensitive topic in the ski industry and especially in the West, where most resorts depend on leasing land from the U.S. Forest Service for their operations. Does a ski area have the right to prohibit or single out a certain type of user's access to federal public land that's supposed to be open to everyone?A nonprofit organization calling itself Wasatch Equality argued it didn't. The group, which includes professional snowboarder Bjorn Leines, filed suit in 2014 alleging the ban violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a lower court ruling, concluded that Alta had a right to enforce its policy because the U.S. Forest Service didn't influence the decision and therefore it wasn't aCourt Upholds Snowboarding Ban At Utah Ski Resorthttp://tpr.org/post/court-upholds-snowboarding-ban-utah-ski-resort
68432 as http://tpr.orgTue, 19 Apr 2016 23:03:00 +0000Court Upholds Snowboarding Ban At Utah Ski ResortKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs State's $15 Minimum Wage Lawhttp://tpr.org/post/california-gov-jerry-brown-signs-states-15-minimum-wage-law
67599 as http://tpr.orgMon, 04 Apr 2016 20:28:00 +0000California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs State's $15 Minimum Wage LawKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.California Officials Release New Rainfall Figures After El Ninohttp://tpr.org/post/california-officials-release-new-rainfall-figures-after-el-nino
67373 as http://tpr.orgWed, 30 Mar 2016 20:25:00 +0000California Officials Release New Rainfall Figures After El NinoKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: And now to the case of Cliven Bundy. He's the Nevada cattleman and militia leader who organized an armed standoff against federal land managers near his ranch in 2014. Bundy is facing 16 felony charges, including conspiracy and assault on a federal officer. Yesterday at his arraignment in federal court in Las Vegas, Bundy refused to enter a plea on any of these charges, as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Dressed in red jumpsuit, 69-year-old Cliven Bundy told the judge that he'd be making no plea before this court. His large family watched from cramped wooden benches. Some prayed, many clutching pocket-sized copies of the Constitution. The judge then replied that he'd enter a not guilty plea on Bundy's behalf and set a tentative trial date for later this spring. Richard Pocker is a former U.S. attorney for Nevada who prosecuted anti-federal government groups here in the 1980s and '90s. He says Bundy's refrain isRancher Cliven Bundy Refuses To Enter Plea In Federal Courthttp://tpr.org/post/rancher-cliven-bundy-refuses-enter-plea-federal-court
66400 as http://tpr.orgFri, 11 Mar 2016 10:11:00 +0000Rancher Cliven Bundy Refuses To Enter Plea In Federal CourtKirk SieglerThe Majestic Yosemite Hotel. Big Trees Lodge.Visitors to Yosemite National Park could be forgiven for not recognizing those hostelries' names.They used to be called — and were famously known as — the Ahwahnee and Wawona hotels."It's just really surreal," said Monica Hubert, a former manager of the Wawona. "I mean, it's a National Historic Landmark."The hotels and other Yosemite landmarks have been renamed because of a contract dispute.The outgoing concessionaire, Delaware North, lost its bid for a new contract to manage the properties to Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, a subsidiary of Aramark. Delaware North sued, saying the bidding process was unfair.As the case progressed, it came out that Delaware North had trademarked many of the names of properties it managed."When we used the Ahwahnee Hotel in marketing, we always put a little 'R' by it," said Dan Jensen, who managed Yosemite properties for Delaware North. "The existence of the fact that these names are protected and trademarked isYosemite Contractor Leaves — And Takes The Landmark's Names With Ithttp://tpr.org/post/iconic-names-change-yosemite-after-trademark-dispute-parks-concessionaire
65968 as http://tpr.orgThu, 03 Mar 2016 11:06:00 +0000Yosemite Contractor Leaves — And Takes The Landmark's Names With ItKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: People from the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles are starting to return home today. A natural gas well leak in the neighborhood has been permanently sealed. It had been releasing methane and other pollutants into the air for four months. Thousands of people have complained of respiratory illnesses and other problems. And as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports, many are still concerned about their safety and health going forward.KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: More than 6,000 households have relocated since the gas started leaking last October. The bulk of those are living elsewhere temporarily at the expense of the Southern California Gas Company. Nancy Salara stayed behind and rode it out in Porter Ranch. She says a pre-existing medical condition kept her from being able to pack up and leave. And like a lot of other people here, she complains of dizziness, lightheadedness and nosebleeds. Things have been pretty tough these last few monthsResidents Return Home After Workers Cap Leaking Gas Well In Los Angeleshttp://tpr.org/post/residents-return-home-after-workers-cap-leaking-gas-well-los-angeles
65345 as http://tpr.orgFri, 19 Feb 2016 21:29:00 +0000Residents Return Home After Workers Cap Leaking Gas Well In Los AngelesKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: A Los Angeles hospital says it paid a ransom of 40 bitcoins or about $17,000 to hackers who shut down its computer system for days. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center says its servers are back online now, and patients' safety was never compromised. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports cyber security experts aren't so sure.KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Hollywood Presbyterian and law enforcement still haven't said how the malware infected the hospital's computers, but cyber security experts say it's likely that someone unknowingly clicked on a link or opened an email they shouldn't have. And just like that, the hospital servers were locked by thieves demanding ransom to turn them over.CLIFFORD NEUMAN: Because our systems are so vulnerable, this is sort of a high payoff way for criminals to monetize their hack.SIEGLER: Clifford Neuman heads the Center for Computer System Security at USC. He says the hospital did the right thing by shuttingLos Angeles Hospital Pays Hackers To Regain Control Of Medical Recordshttp://tpr.org/post/los-angeles-hospital-pays-hackers-regain-control-medical-records
65279 as http://tpr.orgThu, 18 Feb 2016 21:27:00 +0000Los Angeles Hospital Pays Hackers To Regain Control Of Medical RecordsKirk SieglerThe defiant leader of the anti-federal lands movement, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, is now facing multiple felony charges — including conspiracy and assault on a federal officer — in the 2014 standoff at his Nevada ranch.Bundy, who inspired the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was arrested at the airport in Portland, Ore., Wednesday night, apparently on his way to Malheur.In a 32-page criminal complaint, prosecutors allege Bundy and his co-conspirators led a massive, armed assault against federal officers in April 2014 near the town of Bunkerville, Nev.According to the U.S. attorney for Nevada, Bundy and his armed supporters on horseback effectively ambushed federal Bureau of Land Management officials as they were trying to round up 400 of Bundy's cows illegally grazing on federal land.The tense dispute ignited a fierce debate over federal land management and cattle grazing that continued for the past month in Oregon. But Bundy's self-described "range war" has alwaysCliven Bundy's Arrest Caps Years Of Calls For Government To Take Actionhttp://tpr.org/post/cliven-bundys-arrest-caps-years-calls-government-take-action
64944 as http://tpr.orgFri, 12 Feb 2016 01:10:00 +0000Cliven Bundy's Arrest Caps Years Of Calls For Government To Take ActionKirk Sieglerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAGxDWKrjPQ Two days after law enforcement officers shot and killed one of the armed occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, the FBI released an aerial surveillance video of the incident.Authorities say the footage shows the shooting death of 54-year-old Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, of Freedonia, Ariz., who had acted as the group's spokesman.FBI Special Agent in Charge for Oregon Greg Bretzing released the video at a news conference in Burns, Ore., on Thursday night. It was shown to a hushed room on two flat-screen monitors."Actions have consequences," said Bretzing, "and the FBI and Oregon State Police tried to effect these arrests peacefully."Bretzing said two vehicles left the refuge, one carrying the occupation leader Ammon Bundy and another driven by Finicum. Bretzing said both vehicles were stopped by law enforcement. Bundy and six others were arrested.The second vehicle, a white pickup truck, then sped away. At one point it stoppedFBI Releases Aerial Surveillance Video Of Refuge Occupier's Deathhttp://tpr.org/post/fbi-releases-aerial-surveillance-video-refuge-occupiers-death
64243 as http://tpr.orgFri, 29 Jan 2016 09:06:00 +0000FBI Releases Aerial Surveillance Video Of Refuge Occupier's DeathKirk SieglerEver since a tense, armed standoff near Cliven Bundy's Nevada ranch in 2014, a vast and sensitive piece of federal public land adjacent to the Grand Canyon has gone unmanaged and unpatrolled.It's safe to travel into the area called Gold Butte so long as you're not in a federal vehicle, according to Jaina Moan of Friends of Gold Butte, which wants to see the area federally protected.The last time there was any known federal presence was last summer, when scientists under contract with the Bureau of Land Management were camped here, gathering field research."Unfortunately that also was canceled after shots were fired at one of the contract crews," Moan says.Gold Butte, roughly the size of Los Angeles County, is basically lawless right now. Trash is dumped here and there. Some of the BLM's route markers are torn down. Illegal off-road tracks from ATVs lead into the desert. Some pioneer gravesites were even dug up, bones scattered everywhere.If no one is patrolling it, who's going to deterDispute Over Cattle Grazing Disrupts Patrols Of Federal Landhttp://tpr.org/post/dispute-over-cattle-grazing-blocks-patrols-federal-land
64112 as http://tpr.orgWed, 27 Jan 2016 09:22:00 +0000Dispute Over Cattle Grazing Disrupts Patrols Of Federal LandKirk SieglerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Armed Militants In Oregon Cancel Public Meeting As Occupation Drags Onhttp://tpr.org/post/armed-militants-oregon-cancel-public-meeting-occupation-drags
63582 as http://tpr.orgFri, 15 Jan 2016 21:31:00 +0000Armed Militants In Oregon Cancel Public Meeting As Occupation Drags OnKirk SieglerNearly two weeks after members of a self-styled militia occupied the remote Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in an apparent protest over how the U.S. government treats cattle ranchers in eastern Oregon, it appears things are no closer to a resolution.So far, there has been only one brief meeting between Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward and the armed occupation's de facto leader, Ammon Bundy. That meeting last week led to little. And law enforcement still isn't saying what, if any, action it might be planning to take against the militants, reports Amanda Peacher of Oregon Public Broadcasting.Photos taken by OPB from inside the refuge showing the occupiers sitting at government computers with the lights and apparently the heat turned on (the occupiers aren't wearing coats) have created a growing outcry from former federal land managers."If I were the manager there, I'd turn off the heat and power and everything else and let them sit there in the cold and dark," Rick Smith, a retiredWho Will Blink First? Armed Occupation In Oregon Drags Onhttp://tpr.org/post/who-will-blink-first-armed-occupation-oregon-drags
63388 as http://tpr.orgTue, 12 Jan 2016 20:45:00 +0000Who Will Blink First? Armed Occupation In Oregon Drags On